Jindal admin cuts education agency's contract cap

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - The Jindal administration has told state Superintendent of Education John White that his agency now faces tougher rules for getting contracts approved.

Under new guidelines, contracts of more than $2,000 will have to first win approval from the Office of Contractual Review. The previous cap was $20,000.

The Advocate reports (http://bit.ly/1oe9a6g ) the order came from the same office currently embroiled in a dispute with White over Common Core tests.

Commissioner of Administration Kristy Nichols says the contract action was taken because of questions raised during a review on whether the department is following state procurement laws.

The directive was sent to White shortly after Tuesday's meeting of the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education on whether educators or state finance officials have the final say on test purchases.